


Long Live the King

by An_Artsy_Hufflepuff



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Creativitwins, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Being an Idiot, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders is Extra, Gen, Mystery, Sympathetic Sides (Sanders Sides)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24444547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_Artsy_Hufflepuff/pseuds/An_Artsy_Hufflepuff
Summary: After discovering a mysterious castle in the Imagination, Roman and Remus work together to solve the mystery surrounding it.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	1. Roman does some spring cleaning.

Roman knew the Imagination was big. Limitless, more like it, with such a creative person being its owner. Nevertheless, Roman never ventured outside the known realms of the Imagination, always keeping himself in his kingdom, his brother’s strange domain, or the stretch of land in between. He had always assumed there was nothing out there anyway. Which is why he was shocked to find himself standing in front of a large castle far beyond the known realms. 

He wasn’t exactly sure why he had decided to go exploring with nothing more but the clothes on his back. He tried to convince himself that he was only looking for a clean, fresh space. Maybe a place he could relax in, free from the stress of his kingdom, and the pressure of the real world. But he knew that wasn’t it. The truth was Roman had felt called to venture out. Pulled by strange yearning that felt like homesickness. But that was ridiculous. How could you be homesick for a place you didn’t even know existed? 

He tried to remember how he’d gotten there, but the journey was a blur. He remembered weaving about the budding trees in the forest, not questioning his steps. It was almost as if his body knew where he was going, but not his mind.  
He looked back at the strangely familiar castle, the longing in his heart replaced with the overwhelming feeling of curiosity. The palace was covered in tangles of brambles, not unlike the ones in Sleeping Beauty. 

He carefully reached out a hand to tear away the brambles from the door. But before his fingers even brushed the thorns, the brambles simply melted away. He stumbled back as the vines fell from the castle and disappeared. 

Perhaps this was an old castle of his brother’s. Roman didn’t remember making it, and his brother was the only other side with enough creative power to make things in the Imagination. That would offer a solution to why it felt so familiar. Ever since they were young, the twins had had a knack for knowing what the other was thinking about. “Twin Telepathy” as they had always called it. Satisfied with his answer, Roman felt a sudden burst of courage strong enough to have him shove open the door and stride into the castle. It was pitch black inside the building, and Roman found himself ambling about, looking for a lightswitch. However, after a few moments of searching, he found that this castle was not as “technologically advanced” as his own, and held only unlit torches for light. Without missing a beat, Roman pulled a match into existence. Striking it on the stone wall of the palace, he reached up and set the first torch ablaze. He stumbled back as all the surrounding torches ignited themselves. He could now clearly see the room he was standing in, some sort of entrance hall. 

Rows and rows of stained glass windows lined the hall, but each had been carefully covered with a cloth, as if whoever had been here had been in mourning. At the end of the hall sat a throne, as well as what was, no doubt, another covered window. Behind the throne were two winding staircases leading up to the next floor. Roman opted to explore later. Right now he needed to clean this place up. 

Roman had never been a neat freak before. Just look at his room in the Mind Palace for proof. But it felt almost wrong to leave the palace in such an unkept state. A thousand thoughts swarmed Roman’s mind on how he could reinvent the palace, but for the moment he set to work on returning it to a blank slate.

Roman walked over to one of the windows and pulled off the cloth that covered it, grinning as light poured in from the outside. He tucked the cloth under one arm before going to uncover the rest of the windows. Roman hummed as he worked, folding up the cloths and placing them in a small bundle in the corner.

As he walked to the center of the hall, Roman’s eye caught the view out of one of the windows, and he quickly dashed over. From the window Roman could see the forest, however instead of the buds of spring he had seen before, the trees showcased the colors of fall. Roman closed his eyes and shook his head violently, and when he opened them the view had returned to normal. Roman turned away from the window, banishing the strange occurance from his mind. Strange things happened in the Imagination all the time! There was nothing to fret about. 

Roman decided to instead finish the task he had started. He would finish uncovering the windows, and then he would leave. He briskly walked up the stairs, past the throne, and to the covered window behind it. Roman gripped the cloth tightly, and yanked it down. He watched as the cloth fell, pooling around his feet. However, this time, no sunlight poured in. Roman looked up, confused. There was no window there at all. Instead, there was a portrait of a young man. Roman squinted up at it, allowing his eyes to focus on the face. Roman took a step back, shaking. 

This was not his brother’s palace.


	2. Remus makes a new friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus gets a surprise visitor in his half of the Imagination.

Remus liked the Imagination. It was fun. Limitless. No rules. The perfect place to bring his ideas to life. That didn’t mean that he preferred it to the real world, oh no. He much preferred to see the other sides’ reactions to his creations then to let them run free into whatever landscape the Imagination had morphed into that day.

Today, however, he didn’t exactly have a say in the matter. After a particularly hilarious prank on Janus, the dark facet of creativity had been banished into the Imagination until his friend had calmed down, or at least cleaned up the astounding amount of fake blood that Remus had managed to spread all over the house. Not that he minded that much. It was more a break for Janus than a punishment for Remus. 

Deciding not to let himself waste anymore time, Remus set to work on a new creation, a horrific monster that had been on his mind for days now.  
Just as he was about to finish the beast, however, something strange happened. There was a knock at his door. 

Huh, Remus didn’t usually get visitors.

“Hello?” Remus called in a sing-songy voice, making his way over to the heavy metal door that separated his tower from the rest Imagination. He yanked it open quickly, surprising both himself and his visitor. “Roman?” He said, taking a step back. “Wow. You’re here.”

“Uh, yeah,” Roman said with a short laugh, running a hand through his hair. He seemed to be out of breath. Had he been running? “Look, Remus, I need to ask you something.” He swallowed, arching his neck to look behind Remus and into the interior of the tower. “Can I come in?”

“Can you?” Remus laughed. “Sure!” He reached out, grabbing his brother by the shash and yanking him harshly inside. “You can have a seat on the couch,” Remus said, gesturing to a furry green mass that seemed to be breathing. “Do you want something to drink?”

“That would be nice,” Roman said, considering the “couch” then opting to stand.

“Great!” Remus said. He pulled a teakettle off the stove and poured the steaming liquid into two cups. He held one out Roman who immediately gagged on the smell.

“Never mind,” He said, forcing a smile onto his face. “I actually think I’ll pass.”

Remus shrugged. “Your loss,” he said, taking a large swig from his own cup. “So...what did you want to talk about?”

“Right,” Roman said, giving his head a quick shake to clear it. “I wanted to ask you about something. A building near the outskirts of the Imagination?”

“You were all the way out there?” Remus laughed. “I thought you hated going anywhere unexplored.”

“I don’t hate going anywhere unexplored,” Roman said, brow furrowing. “I happen to love adventure. I just wasn’t prepared to go on an adventure today.”

“Sure,” Remus smirked, taking another swig.  
Roman groaned and crossed his arms. “Do you know anything about it or not?” He snapped.

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Remus said. “My creations have a tendency to…” he paused, trying to find the right word. “Wander.”

“Well, I don’t think that buildings can wander,” Roman laughed.

“Not with that attitude they can’t.”

Roman pursed his lips. “It’s a castle,” he said after a few minutes. “A huge castle. I don’t remember making it. Was it you?”

“A castle?” Remus laughed. “Ro, do you even have to ask that? If it’s a castle it wasn’t me. That’s your brand. Mine’s more...monsters,” he snapped his fingers, bringing the half finished creation he’d been working on to life. The creature sprang to its feet, immediately sprinting towards Roman and nipping at his heels.

“What is wrong with you!” Roman screeched, hopping onto the “couch” as Remus cackled. “This is why I never visit!”

“Fine,” Remus said, still laughing. He snapped his fingers again and the creature calmed down, retreating to one of the dark corners of Remus’ tower. “How about this, if it’ll put your mind at ease, I’ll go check this castle out. Make sure it isn’t mine.”

Roman sighed. “Thank you, Remus, that would really mean a lot to me.” Roman stiffened. “I almost hate to ask, but what would I owe you in return?”

“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Remus smiled, showing off his yellowed teeth. “Let’s just say ya owe me one.”

Roman groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. Somehow, that was worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Chapter 2 is finally here! Don’t worry, none of the other chapters should take this long...probably.

**Author's Note:**

> Buh buh BUH! Chapter 2 should be out soon, but no promises! Have a nice day.


End file.
